Sanitary attachment for telephone mouthpieces



0. o. ELLERT I SANITARY ATTACHMENT FOR TELEPHONE MOUTHPIECES Filed July5, 1922 flaws;

/FLLM Patented Nov. 10, 1925.

UNITED Sn-res CHARLES o. steam, or BnooKLYn'," xonx.

sanrrnnx A'r'rAcHMENr ron rnmrnonnmoo'rnrmons.

Application filed July 5,

To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES ()uEL'IaERT, a citizen of the United States,"and resident of the city ofNew York,"borough of Brooklyn, county ofKings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Sanitary Attachments for Telephone Mouthpieces, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact specification. Y Thisinvention relatesprimarily toonepiece sanitary attachments that maybeeasily attached 'to mouth-pieces for telephones, speaking tubes, orother like. devices, and has for its object to attain by simple anderective construction, improved sanitary' protection against infectiousdisease and germs often associated with unprotectedtelephonemouth-pieces.

Another object is to provide a sanitary attachment of suitable shape andsize for telephone mouth-pieces, that may be made of paper, fiber,celluloid or like composition, or any other suitable material, that, ifdesired, may be readily discarded and replaced by a new sanitaryattachment.

Another object is to provide a detachable and rotatable sanitaryattachment for telephone mouth-pieces, adapted to brush, wipe and cleanand disinfect said mouthpieces, and the said sanitary attachment may bereadily discarded when desired,and replaced by a new sanitaryattachment.-

Another object is to provide an improved sanitary cleansing anddisinfecting-attachment for telephone mouth-piece, which is simple inoperation, cheap to manufacture,

and which will act in an effective manner to prevent the said telephonemouth-pieces from serving as a carrier of infectious germs and diseases.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists in thenovel construction,- combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafterdescribed and claimed,reference being had to the accompanying drawingsin which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout theseveral views. Fig. 1 is a broken longitudinal section view of atelephone mouthpiece showing in cross section the invention .as appliedto said mouthpiece.

Fig.2, is a view of the open end of said telephone mouth-piece showingthezinterior -jections B, and ,O,.thereon'..

portion; of said ,mouthepiecef, points,.as indicatediat, 3, Fig; 1, .10,Fig. 4,

tary attachment. N

Fig. 6 shows an approximately formed attachment 'formed from a singlepiece blank as shown'in Fig, 5, the dotted lines indicating the portionsBand Blisuitably formed or molded. to providea suitableislot or channelopening of.rapproxim'atelyithe thickness of the wall ofisaid} telephonemouthpiece. "Fig. 7,. is a detail view of a further-modificationin'construction of thesaidsanitary attachment. for telephone,mouth-piecesf' Fig. 8, is a modification in construction 1' of thesanitary attachment for telephone mouthpieces, showing the exteriormember provided with a bifurcatedor forked end, and provided with aplurality of positionlng means.

mouth-pieces isv made preferably from a suitable blank, approximatelythe shapejand The sanitary attachment for telephone form shown in Fig.5,.and. comprising a p central portion "A, having extensions or. 1:10-

The said blank is made preferably of paper, fiber, celluloid or. like]composition, or any other suitablev material, sufficient thicknessbeingv left, if desired, at the base A, of the projectionB, to affordthe neces sary stiffness and resiliency in action;

The partB, is adapted to be bent or molded as indicated by dottedlines,Fig. 6, ap-

proximately parallel with the main body 'portioniC. The endsB, C1,,areadaptedto define a, suitable slot. or. opening, of approximately thethickness of the wall of the said mouth-piece 1,, andapproximatelyshaped or molded to the contour lines of a ,se mental 1 uitable onthemain body portion 'jC are adapted,

.if desired, to, be made slightly thicker-and,

said main body portion C, against accidental displacement when s ai'dsanit ai y attachment is detachably mounted on said telephonemouth-piece. If"desired, the main bod'yportion C, may be bifurcated, orforked, and a locking means suitably adapted to said member r the isaidlmouthpiece.

' A .i -ndiicated inF-igd, and Fig; 4, a; suitable -locking means,including preferably, a sere wthreaded device 5, 11, haV-ingga suit ableoperating-head 4:, 9, is preferably positioned at points 3, 10, onithe:main bodyporas.;indicated at 6, on the .wall of the said;mou'th-:piec'e...The adjustmentof the screw threadeddevice adjusts the.pressure oflthe i nternalijavv .upon the internal wall of the telephonea mouthpiece.

111 Fig. 4 amodifioation isshown, wherein a suitable friction member 11, preferablyof rubber or other material, is-suitably mountedw'asindicated at points. 15, 16, upon 'a suitable end 13, of the main bodyO. The opposite end of said member l ljadjacent pointsfll lflis adaptedto be pressed away from: the. main. portion C, by a suitable end 12, of:the screw threaded device 11, in a manner topermit a suitable pressureengagement of said member 14:, with the Wall.

:of lsaid.Imouth-piecegawhen desired, by "the operationfof. the said'locking means.

. .In 'Z, is 'shown a still further modification in construction of' thesaid improved sanitary attachment ivvhereinv the'main body portion C, atpoints near itsend C is provided Witha v suitable -locl ting 'm'eanshaving a body portion E, adapted to' be suitably secured to' said mainbody portion Q, by

suitable holding means, as. riveting indicatedby 18, 19, or in anysuitable manner. I The extreme 'end F, of the said locking means. ispreferably adapted tobe thicker "than the main body portionE, andadapted to suitably engage with a screw I threaded device -l 1,'passi'ng through-'a suitablecoacting threaded "opening in said end F,in' .a manner whereby suitable 'end 11 suitably engages With the Wall'of'said mouth piece 'The' construction of the locking means shown in Fig..7, is preferably,topernnt a 'spring a-ctu'ated contact engagement Withthe Wall of said mouth-piece 1, whereby any locking adjustment of thesaid screwdevice 11 provides a spring pressure upon the disease 1 and Tgerms.

. Thesaid. .containermefans 17,

said'spring like member E, and tends to adjustthe pressure of theinternal jaw upon the intrnal Wall of the "telephone mouth piece.

The said sanitary attachment is firmly and dtahablypositioi'ied againstaccidental displacement p osition upon saidmouthpiece, 1',"aiida"*sliglit 'feleasing or adjustment ofthe scr eyv threaded device,permits unsanitary attachment to be rotated or moved around the ,rimorperiphery 1 making. as ma-nyrrevolntions around the sa d rim 1*, asdesired, to brush" and clean I and disinfect, the. T said. mouth-pieceand when, desire d the said locking means 7 is adapted to be adjusted,to increase the holding pressure engagement of the said sanitaryattachment; against co-acting points upon the Wall of, said nouthpiece,and the said attachment is held securely against accidentaldisplacement'of its position upon said mouthpiece M Asuitablacontainermeans 17,173; 17*, Eigs., l, a, and.7, respect ively, is suitablyadapted for. containing suitable disinfectant elements or element,,andis suitably mounted or positioned atr points on the opposing inner.facesjof the said main body portionC, and the resilient arm B,Wherebyto form means adapted to clean and {disinfect and rendervthesaid-mouthpiece 1, in a sanitarycondition and proof againstinfections A suitable containermeans, as 17, offelt, cloth or othersuitable material, may ,be adapted to suitably engage points on theinnerface of; the interior resilient arm B, andco-actingpoints on theinterior face "of the Wall .of said mouth-piece. Thesaid main bodyportion'C, if desired, may. be adapted With or Without the; saiddisinfectant con- 1 tainenmeans 17 17 to engage the said wall of said'mouth-piece 1.

1?, 17', are adapted to be suitably supp'liedlwith a suitabledisinfectant element-or, elements, preferably in .a dry form. Thebreathing of the party using the telephonemouth-piece supplies all thenecessary moisture required to cO-Operate With said disinfectantelements to render said elements active. As a modification, a suitableelement or elementsmay be applied as a coating or veneer or a varnishlike element upon the'inner face orsurface of the said resilient arm B.Said coatin or veneer is ada ted to have disinfectant properties orpower to disinfect said telephone mouth-piece. I ,1

Although the area or size of the said'sanitary atta chmentcovers. orencloses only a segmental portion or area of the Wall of the saidmouth-piece, the slidable or rotatable movement of-the said sanitaryattachment when detachably mounted upon the said mouth-piece, easily andquickly permits said sanitary attachment to render the entiremouth-piece in improved sanitary condition and safe from disease andgerm infection resulting from telephone mouth-pieces being in anunsanitary condition. g

It is readily seen that the construction herein shown and described,provides a sanitary attachment for telephone mouth-pieces havingcompactness and utility combined with efiectiveness in form and coloradapted to give the operator or user of said telephone mouthpiece,convenience, confidence, and increased safety from germ infection resulting from telephone mouthpieces being in an unsanitary condition.

The said sanitary attachment by reason of its construction andresiliency is easily and quickly mounted upon the said mouthpiece and isreadily adapted to clean and disinfect the said mouthpiece, and readilypermits a. suitable brushing engagement to be directed against the wallor walls of said mouthpiece.

The said sanitary attachment on account of its resiliency andconstruction is quickly and readily detachably mounted upon saidmouth-piece against accidental displacement, and it will be particularlynoted that the said sanitary attachment may be mounted at any suitablepoint upon the rim 1, or periphery of the said mouth-piece, the saidresilient arm B, functioning just as well from one point or side as fromanother.

While I have shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will beunderstood that the invention is not to be limited to exact details ofconstruction herein shown and described, and change therein andmodification thereof may be made within the scope of the appended claimswithout departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any ofits advantages.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A sanitary attachment for telephone mouthpieces, comprising a memberformed from a single piece of material or element, and having a mainbody portion, a resilient jaw member in engagement with said main bodyportion, said resilient jaw member being adapted to engage with adisinfectant holding means, and a screw actuated means engaging saidmain body portion and said mouthpiece in a manner whereby said bodyportion is detachably locked against dis placement upon the periphery ofsaid tele-- phone mouthpiece.

2. A sanitary attachment for telephone mouthpieces, comprising a cliphaving oppoattachment including a member formed from a single piece ofdesirable materlal provided with a screw actuated means whereby saidattachment is permitted to be rotatably adjusted and detachably lockedagainst displacement upon the periphery of said telephone mouthpiece.

4. The combination with a telephone mouthpiece, of a member adapted toposi tion a disinfectant element or elements adjacent the wall or wallsof said telephone mouthpiece, and a screw actuated means carried by saidmember whereby said member is rotatably adjusted and detachably lockedagainst displacement upon the periphery of said telephone mouthpiece.

5. A sanitary attachment for telephone mouthpieces, comprising a cliphaving internal and external jaw members, means to support adisinfectant-element. or elements adjacent the wall or walls of saidtelephone mouthpiece," a bifurcated end provided on said externalmember, and a plurality of screw actuated means engaging said bifurcatedend whereby said attachment is rotatably adjusted and detachably lockedagainst displacement upon the periphery of said telephone mouthpiece.

6. A sanitary attachment for telephone mouthpieces, comprising a cliphaving in ternal and external portions, means to support a disinfectantelement or elements adjacent the wall or walls of said telephonemouthpiece, and positioning means, including screw actuated meansengaging said sanitary attachment and said mouthpiece whereby saidsanitary attachment is rotatably adjusted and positioned, againstdisplacement upon the periphery of said telephone mouthpiece.

In testimony whereof, Ihave signed my name. 7

CHARLES o. ELLERT.

